Despite a hectic week, we managed to squeeze in attending the 1st HAPI (Homeschool Association of the Philippines Islands) Homeschool Fair (see photos here). Being surrounded by like-minded parents and seeing the display of talents on stage and in the Arts and Science Exhibit of the homeschooled kids were a wonderful way to remember why our family has decided to take the less-traveled path (at least here in the Philippines) of home education.
“Nationbuilding Begins at Home” was the theme of last year’s 3rd Philippine Homeschool Conference, where HAPI was launched as the country’s first official homeschool association. Hubby and I were able to attend that conference and came away convicted that homeschooling, in our case, Catholic homeschooling, is really the way to strengthen the future of the Catholic Church, and even of society.
Saturday’s Homeschool Fair was a chance for me to go back to why I decided to become a “teacher mama,” after much discussion and prayer with my husband of course. I truly believe that strong families mean strong communities and a strong country. We may be at the point in our country’s history where a lot of things have been said about why our country is poor, why we are underdeveloped, etc. There has even been a lot of finger-pointing, and many scandalous things have been exposed in the political arena, among other things.
When it boils down to it though, I personally believe that if all families were more united and solid in their life goals and dreams (and I am not just talking about Catholic families, but Filipino families in general), there would be less problems in society. If more parents would take the time to be with their children and mold them to be future leaders, or maybe even “world changers,” our world would indeed be a better place, as cliché as it sounds.
I know though that as much as all parents would want to be there for their children, many are unable to do so because of their different circumstances, and have to make numerous sacrifices for their families. I really feel for families like these. Still, I have hope and encourage those who are playing the role of “parent” to children (the lolos, lolas, titos, titas, kuyas, ates, etc) to also try to give quality time to their kids.
As for my family, we are trying our best to make sure that when our kids grow up, and have families of their own, we can rest in the knowledge that we had done the best that we could, and that we had played a major role in why our kids had turned out the way they did.
We believe that homeschooling is one of the ways we can do so. Besides being pro-God and pro-family, we believe that home-educating our children is pro-life. We are not Education graduates nor do we claim to be the smartest of parents, but we believe that our kids will learn best, at least for now, in the comfort of our home. I only pray that I will have the patience, discipline and organizational skills I will need to pull it off! Hahaha!
By the way, homeschooling is not just for Catholics or Christians. Check out these Muslim families’ homeschooling blogs here and here. Cool huh? There are actually even atheists who homeschool!
At the end of the day, it is really up to the parents to decide what is best for their children. As for us, we truly believe that God calls parents to be the primary teachers of their kids. Homeschooling is our way of responding to that call! By building our family, we know that indirectly, we are building our nation.
How about you? What are your thoughts on the phrase “nationbuilding begins at home?”